Oy, I had a whole thing typed up the last time I visited here, about yoga...and forgot to post it...and got busy and then shut my computer down without ever posting it. Do not remember what all I said other than yoga feels good and I'm going to do it every morning for the rest of my life. Also, wished that I could enjoy walking like I used to.
Thanks for the kind comments!
1) choose fat free for all meals and snacks
2) stand up and move around every hour3) daily mental bolstering by imagining myself thin and healthy
4) chair yoga/standing chair yoga
5) take a walkSo today I want to talk about walking. I bought a book On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz. The book describes in detail what different people "see" while walking, and talks about being mindful during walks and noticing/seeing things. The first walk was with her 19 month old toddler and SO cute. It reminded me of the walks with my wee ones out in the country where we lived.
The second walk (as far as I've gotten) was with a geologist who knew what kinds of stone were used in the buildings of the block they walked around (Downtown Manhattan) and how the stone was formed, where it was quarried, etc. (There are buildings in New York City made of stone from Kentucky). Pretty interesting, but I live in a suburb, not in a major metropolis full of skyscrapers built 100 years ago. The buildings in my neighborhood are all three bedroom cottages made of brick in the 1940's and I am NOT interested in where the bricks were made LOL
BUT! The neighborhood is packed with trees! And when I went on my walk yesterday, it was breezy and the trees were all whispering, so I left my earbuds out and listened as I went. It's still strenuous and I stopped frequently, but I always chose a tree to stop under its shade. And I AM interested in them. What types of trees are they? I know Maple and Ash, Paper Birch, Crab Apple, Linden. Sumac. There were Norway maples and Silver maples. An elm hedge curving around the front of one yard, about thigh high. Yes, elm. I don't remember seeing any big elm trees but I'm sure there are some around here. Spruce trees, some pines.
Looking at the trees, and stopping to rest near trees (while googling What tree is this?) meant going slower and that meant my lower back didn't react in pain the way it has been. I'm telling you, I have not been enjoying my walks, and that sucks. But yesterday I really took my time and came home feeling okay, which was nice because it's been a while since my daily walk hasn't made me cry in frustration and pain.
In other news, we harvested probably 40 lbs of apples from our HoneyCrisp tree, and at least 25 lbs of peaches. First harvest of peaches! So much fruit that we couldn't eat it all and a lot of it went to neighbors and family, and some into the garbage (don't come for me...we don't have the equipment for canning or making apple sauce or jelly
maybe next year) and yesterday we had two baby pears from our Asian Pear tree which were absolutely amazing.
The tomato harvest continues. We've been bringing in buckets, along with massive cucumbers. I sliced a big one and put the slices in a pitcher of water in the fridge...yum! A couple sprigs of mint? *chef's kiss*
so, my daily goal of imagining myself fit and slender isn't daily so much these days. I think I need to make that a priority now that I have some physical fitness habits in place. Mind you, I'm aware that my mental bolstering is part of what lead to me doing yoga and walking daily, but I know me and if I don't work on keeping my mind in the game, I will not keep up the good habits.
No added fat is more frequent but I can't say it's 100%. It's a work in progress.